Combination weighing device

ABSTRACT

A combination weighing apparatus includes a plurality of hoppers and a collecting chute. Each of the plurality of hoppers has a main body provided with a first opening and a second opening, and a gate allowed to be opened and closed with respect to the second opening. The main body is provided with a first inner surface and a second inner surface having an intersecting positional relationship to protrude outward with respect to the centerline. The collecting chute has at least a chute portion configured to receive articles discharged from the plurality of hoppers and slide the articles. A portion of the chute portion located below the plurality of hoppers is provided with a first receiving surface and a second receiving surface having an intersecting positional relationship to protrude outward with respect to the centerline.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a combination weighing apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

In a combination weighing apparatus, articles supplied from the outside(articles having variations in unit mass such as agricultural products,fishery products, and processed foods) are temporarily stored in aplurality of weighing hoppers, a weighing value corresponding to themass of articles is weighed in each weighing hopper, and the articlesare discharged to a collecting chute from a plurality of weighinghoppers selected so that a total value of weighing values corresponds toa target weighing value. The articles discharged to the collecting chuteare collected together and discharged from the collecting chute to, forexample, a bag making/packaging machine. In this instance, to rapidlyand surely carry out packaging of the articles in the bagmaking/packaging machine, the articles discharged from the plurality ofweighing hoppers to the collecting chute need to be discharged from thecollecting chute in a short time. Therefore, various shapes of thecollecting chute have been devised (for example, see Patent Literature1).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.2007-279054

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

An object of the disclosure is to provide a combination weighingapparatus capable of discharging an article discharged from a hopperfrom a collecting chute in a short time.

Solution to Problem

A combination weighing apparatus according to an aspect of thedisclosure includes a plurality of hoppers disposed to surround acenterline parallel to a vertical direction and configured totemporarily store articles supplied from an outside, and a collectingchute configured to discharge the articles discharged from the pluralityof hoppers while collecting the articles, in which each of the pluralityof hoppers has a main body provided with a first opening through whichthe articles are input and a second opening through which the articlesare discharged, and a gate allowed to be opened and closed with respectto the second opening, the main body is provided with a first innersurface and a second inner surface having an intersecting positionalrelationship to protrude outward with respect to the centerline, thecollecting chute has at least a chute portion configured to receive thearticles discharged from the plurality of hoppers and slide thearticles, and a portion of the chute portion located below the pluralityof hoppers is provided with a first receiving surface and a secondreceiving surface having an intersecting positional relationship toprotrude outward with respect to the centerline, the first receivingsurface and the second receiving surface being surfaces corresponding tothe first inner surface and the second inner surface, respectively.

In this combination weighing apparatus, the first inner surface and thesecond inner surface having the intersecting positional relationship toprotrude outward with respect to the centerline are provided in the mainbody of the hopper. Further, the first receiving surface and the secondreceiving surface having the intersecting positional relationship toprotrude outward with respect to the centerline are provided in theportion of the chute portion located below the hoppers. In this way,when the articles discharged from the hoppers reach the first receivingsurface and the second receiving surface, a drop speed is made uniformat a center and both sides thereof. Moreover, since the first innersurface and the second inner surface have the intersecting positionalrelationship to protrude outward with respect to the centerline, thearticles are discharged in a state of being collected together from themain body of the weighing hopper. Further, since the first receivingsurface and the second receiving surface have the intersectingpositional relationship to protrude outward with respect to thecenterline, spread of the articles due to dropping is suppressed.Therefore, the articles received by the first receiving surface and thesecond receiving surface are collected together to slide on an upperstage chute portion. Therefore, according to the combination weighingapparatus, the articles discharged from the hoppers can be dischargedfrom the collecting chute in a short time.

In the combination weighing apparatus according to the aspect of thedisclosure, the second opening may be provided in the main body to bepositioned on a lower side as the second opening is farther from thecenterline, and the gate may be rotatably attached to a portion of anedge of the second opening in the main body on a side of the centerline.In this case, the articles drop in a more collected state along thefirst inner surface and the second inner surface of the main body.

In the combination weighing apparatus according to the aspect of thedisclosure, a first distance between a lower end of the first innersurface and the first receiving surface in a vertical direction may besubstantially constant, a second distance between a lower end of thesecond inner surface and the second receiving surface in the verticaldirection may be substantially constant, and the first distance and thesecond distance may be substantially equal to each other. In this case,when the articles discharged from the hoppers reach the first receivingsurface and the second receiving surface, the drop speed becomessubstantially equal at the center and both sides thereof.

In the combination weighing apparatus according to the aspect of thedisclosure, a plurality of sliding areas may be provided in the chuteportion to extend from below the plurality of hoppers to the side of thecenterline and be positioned on a lower side as approaching thecenterline, each of the plurality of sliding areas may include a slidingsurface forming a bottom surface of the sliding area, the firstreceiving surface connected to the sliding surface on one side of thesliding surface in a horizontal direction when viewed from the side ofthe centerline, and the second receiving surface connected to thesliding surface on the other side of the sliding surface in thehorizontal direction when viewed from the side of the centerline, thesliding surface, the first receiving surface, and the second receivingsurface may mutually have an intersecting positional relationship toprotrude outward with respect to the centerline, a width of the slidingsurface may increase as approaching the centerline, and a width of eachof the first receiving surface and the second receiving surface maydecrease as approaching the centerline.

In this case, the articles discharged from the hopers are received bythe first receiving surface and the second receiving surface of thechute portion. In this instance, since the first receiving surface andthe second receiving surface have the intersecting positionalrelationship to protrude outward with respect to the centerline, spreadof the articles due to dropping is suppressed. Further, the articlesreceived by the first receiving surface and the second receiving surfaceslide on the sliding surface of the chute portion. In this instance,since the width of the sliding surface increases as approaching thecenterline, and the width of each of the first receiving surface and thesecond receiving surface decreases as approaching the centerline,friction, etc. occurring between the articles decreases, and thearticles are collected together to smoothly slide on the slidingsurface. Therefore, it is possible to discharge the articles dischargedfrom the hoppers from the collecting chute in a short time.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the disclosure, it is possible to provide a combinationweighing apparatus capable of discharging an article discharged from ahopper from a collecting chute in a short time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a combination weighing apparatusaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a collecting chute of the combinationweighing apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a weighinghopper and the collecting chute in the combination weighing apparatus ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the weighinghopper and the collecting chute in the combination weighing apparatus ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a weighinghopper and a collecting chute of a comparative example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the weighinghopper and the collecting chute of the comparative example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a weighinghopper and a collecting chute of a modification.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a partition member of the collectingchute of the modification.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the disclosure will be described in detailwith reference to drawings. Incidentally, in each figure, the same or acorresponding part is denoted by the same reference symbol, andduplicate description is omitted.

[Overall Configuration of Combination Weighing Apparatus]

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a combination weighing apparatus 1 includes ancharge chute 2, a dispersion feeder 3, a plurality of radiation feeders4, a plurality of pool hoppers 5, a plurality of weighing hoppers(hoppers) 6, a collecting chute 8, a timing hopper 9, a weighing unit11, and a controller 20. The combination weighing apparatus 1 weighsarticles A (articles having variations in unit mass such as agriculturalproducts, fishery products, and processed foods) supplied by aconveyance conveyor 50 such that the articles A correspond to a targetweighing value, and supplies the articles A to a bag making/packagingmachine 60. Incidentally, the bag making/packaging machine 60 packagesthe articles A weighed and supplied by the combination weighingapparatus 1 while molding a film into a bag of a predetermined capacity.

The charge chute 2 is disposed below a conveying end 50 a of theconveyance conveyor 50. The charge chute 2 receives the articles Aconveyed from the outside by the conveyance conveyor 50 and dropped fromthe conveying end 50 a of the conveyance conveyor 50, and discharges thearticles A downward.

The dispersion feeder 3 is disposed below the charge chute 2. Thedispersion feeder 3 has a conical conveying surface 3 a that widensdownward toward an end. The dispersion feeder 3 vibrates the conveyingsurface 3 a to uniformly convey the articles A discharged from thecharge chute 2 to a top of the conveying surface 3 a toward an outeredge of the conveying surface 3 a.

The plurality of radiation feeders 4 is radially arranged along theouter edge of the conveying surface 3 a of the dispersion feeder 3. Eachof the radiation feeders 4 has a trough 4 a extending outward from belowthe outer edge of the conveying surface 3 a. Each radiation feeder 4conveys the articles A discharged from the outer edge of the conveyingsurface 3 a toward a distal end of the trough 4 a by vibrating thetrough 4 a.

The plurality of pool hoppers 5 is arranged to surround a centerline CLparallel to a vertical direction. Each of the pool hoppers 5 is disposedbelow the distal end of the trough 4 a of each radiation feeder 4. Eachpool hopper 5 has a gate 5 a allowed to be opened and closed withrespect to a bottom thereof. Each pool hopper 5 temporarily stores thearticles A discharged from the distal end of the corresponding trough 4a by closing the gate 5 a. Further, each pool hopper 5 discharges thetemporarily stored articles A downward by opening the gate 5 a.

The plurality of weighing hoppers 6 is arranged to surround thecenterline CL. Each of the weighing hoppers 6 is disposed below the gate5 a of each pool hopper 5. Each weighing hopper 6 has a main body 61 anda gate 62 allowed to be opened and closed with respect to the bottom ofthe main body 61. Each weighing hopper 6 temporarily stores the articlesA discharged from the corresponding pool hopper 5 in the main body 61 byclosing the gate 62. Further, each weighing hopper 6 discharges thearticles A temporarily stored in the main body 61 downward by openingthe gate 62.

The collecting chute 8 collects the articles A discharged from eachweighing hopper 6 at a discharge port 8 a. The discharge port 8 a ispositioned on a lower side of the plurality of weighing hoppers 6 and onthe centerline CL. The collecting chute 8 has an upper stage chuteportion (chute portion) 81 and a lower stage chute portion 82. The upperstage chute portion 81 receives the articles A discharged from eachweighing hopper 6 and slides the articles A to the discharge port 8 aside (that is, the centerline CL side and the lower side). The lowerstage chute portion 82 is a tubular body of a truncated conical shapetapered downward and has an upper opening 82 a and a lower opening 82 b.The lower stage chute portion 82 discharges the articles A from thedischarge port 8 a downward using the lower opening 82 b as thedischarge port 8 a.

The timing hopper 9 is disposed below the discharge port 8 a. The timinghopper 9 has a gate 9 a allowed to be opened and closed with respect toa bottom thereof. The timing hopper 9 temporarily stores the articles Adischarged from the collecting chute 8 by closing the gate 9 a. Further,the timing hopper 9 discharges the temporarily stored articles A to thebag making/packaging machine 60 by opening the gate 9 a.

The weighing unit 11 is disposed in a case 13 supported on a frame 12.The weighing unit 11 has a plurality of load cells 11 a. Each of theload cells 11 a supports a corresponding weighing hopper 6. When thearticles A are temporarily stored in each weighing hopper 6, theweighing unit 11 weighs a weighing value according to the mass of thearticles A.

The controller 20 is disposed in the case 13. The controller 20 includesa central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM), a randomaccess memory (RAM), etc. The controller 20 controls an operation ofeach unit of the combination weighing apparatus 1 such as a conveyingoperation of the dispersion feeder 3 and the radiation feeder 4, anopening/closing operation of the gate 5 a of each pool hopper 5, anopening/closing operation of the gate 62 of each weighing hopper 6, andan opening/closing operation of the gate 9 a of the timing hopper 9.Incidentally, the controller 20 is connected to the bag making/packagingmachine 60 such that communication is allowed.

The controller 20 stores the weighing value weighed by the weighing unit11 and the weighing hopper 6 that stores the articles A corresponding tothe weighing value in association with each other. The controller 20selects a combination of weighing values from a plurality of weightingvalues weighed by the weighing unit 11 and associated with therespective weighing hoppers 6 so that a total value becomes a targetweighing value. More specifically, the controller 20 selects acombination of weighing values from a plurality of weighting valuesoutput by the weighing unit 11 so that a total value falls within apredetermined range having the target weighing value as a lower limit.Then, the controller 20 causes the weighing hopper 6 corresponding tothe combination to discharge the articles A.

Incidentally, the charge chute 2, the dispersion feeder 3, the pluralityof radiation feeders 4, the plurality of pool hoppers 5 and theplurality of weighing hoppers 6 are directly or indirectly supported bythe case 13. The collecting chute 8 and the timing hopper 9 are directlyor indirectly supported on the frame 12.

[Configuration of Upper Stage Chute Portion of Collecting Chute]

As illustrated in FIG. 2, in the collecting chute 8, the upper stagechute portion 81 has a plurality of sliding areas R. Each of the slidingareas R extends from below each weighing hopper 6 to the centerline CLside so as to be positioned on the lower side as approaching thecenterline CL (see FIG. 1). Each sliding area R is composed of apartition member 83 formed by bending a metal plate. More specifically,each sliding area R includes a sliding surface 83 a, a first receivingsurface 83 b, a second receiving surface 83 c, a first side surface 83d, and a second side surface 83 e which are inner surfaces of eachpartitioning member 83. Incidentally, in FIG. 2, illustration of a partof the partition member 83 is omitted.

The sliding surface 83 a forms a bottom surface of the sliding area Rand extends from below the weighing hopper 6 to an outer edge of theopening 82 a of the lower stage chute portion 82. The sliding surface 83a is a flat surface, and has a triangular shape (an isosceles triangleshape in which a base is positioned on the centerline CL side) in whichone side is positioned on the centerline CL side and one vertex ispositioned on an opposite side from the centerline CL side).

The first receiving surface 83 b is directly connected to the slidingsurface 83 a on one side of the sliding surface 83 a in a horizontaldirection when viewed from the centerline CL side and extends from belowthe weighing hopper 6 to the outer edge of the opening 82 a of the lowerstage chute portion 82. The first receiving surface 83 b is a flatsurface, and has a triangular shape in which one vertex is positioned onthe centerline CL side and one side is positioned on an opposite sidefrom the centerline CL side. Incidentally, “one surface is directlyconnected to the other surface” means that substantially no othersurface is interposed between one surface and the other surface, andincludes a case in which a chamfered surface, etc. is interposed betweenone surface and the other surface in addition to a case in which onesurface and the other surface are directly connected to each other(hereinafter the same).

The second receiving surface 83 e is directly connected to the slidingsurface 83 a on the other side of the sliding surface 83 a in thehorizontal direction when viewed from the centerline CL side and extendsfrom below the weighing hopper 6 to the outer edge of the opening 82 aof the lower stage chute portion 82. The second receiving surface 83 cis a flat surface, and has a triangular shape in which one vertex ispositioned on the centerline CL side and one side is positioned on anopposite side from the centerline CL side.

A width of the sliding surface 83 a (width in the horizontal direction)increases as approaching the centerline CL. A width of each of the firstreceiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c (width inthe horizontal direction) decreases as approaching the centerline CL.The sliding surface 83 a and the first receiving surface 83 b have anintersecting positional relationship to protrude outward with respect tothe centerline CL (to form a valley fold). Similarly, the slidingsurface 83 a and the second receiving surface 83 c have the intersectingpositional relationship to protrude outward with respect to thecenterline CL (to form a valley fold). Further, the first receivingsurface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c also have theintersecting positional relationship to protrude outward with respect tothe centerline CL (to form a valley fold) (even though the firstreceiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c do notdirectly intersect each other, surfaces including the first receivingsurface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c intersect each otherto protrude outward with respect to the centerline CL). In this way, thesliding surface 83 a, the first receiving surface 83 b, and the secondreceiving surface 83 c mutually have the intersecting positionalrelationship to protrude outward with respect to the centerline CL.

The first side surface 83 d is directly connected to the first receivingsurface 83 b on one side of the first receiving surface 83 b in thehorizontal direction when viewed from the centerline CL side, andextends from below the weighing hopper 6 to the outer edge of theopening 82 a of the lower stage chute portion 82. The first side surface83 d is a flat surface and has a rectangular shape. The second sidesurface 83 e is directly connected to the second receiving surface 83 con the other side of the second receiving surface 83 c in the horizontaldirection when viewed from the centerline CL side, and extends frombelow the weighing hopper 6 to the outer edge of the opening 82 a of thelower stage chute portion 82. The second side surface 83 e is a flatsurface and has a rectangular shape. The first side surface 83 d and thesecond side surface 83 e face each other through the sliding area R.

[Relationship Between Weighing Hopper and Collecting Chute]

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the main body 61 of the weighing hopper 6 is apentagonal pillar-shaped tubular body, and has an upper opening (firstopening) 61 a and a lower opening (second opening) 61 b. The upperopening 61 a into which the articles A are put is provided substantiallyhorizontally in the main body 61. The lower opening 61 b from which thearticles A are discharged is provided in the main body 61 so as to bepositioned on the lower side as the lower opening 61 b is farther fromthe centerline CL. The gate 62 is rotatably attached to a portion of anedge of the lower opening 61 b in the main body 61 on the centerline CLside, and is allowed to be opened and closed with respect to the loweropening 61 b.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the main body 61 is provided with a firstinner surface 61 c and a second inner surface 61 d having theintersecting positional relationship to protrude outward with respect tothe centerline CL (to form a valley fold). An upper end of the firstreceiving surface 83 b of the partition member 83 is positioned below alower end of the first inner surface 61 c. Similarly, an upper end ofthe second receiving surface 83 c of the partition member 83 ispositioned below a lower end of the second inner surface 61 d. In thisway, the first receiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface83 c of each partition member 83, which are surfaces corresponding tothe first inner surface 61 c and the second inner surface 61 d,respectively, are disposed in a portion positioned below each weighinghopper 6 in the upper stage chute portion 81.

A first distance d1 between a lower end of the first inner surface 61 cand the first receiving surface 83 b in the vertical direction issubstantially constant. A second distance d2 between a lower end of thesecond inner surface 61 d and the second receiving surface 83 c in thevertical direction is substantially constant. The first distance d1 andthe second distance d2 are substantially equal to each other.

Action and Effect

In the combination weighing apparatus 1, the first inner surface 61 cand the second inner surface 61 d having the intersecting positionalrelationship to protrude outward with respect to the centerline CL areprovided in the main body 61 of the weighing hopper 6. Further, thefirst receiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 chaving the intersecting positional relationship to protrude outward withrespect to the centerline CL are provided in a portion of the upperstage chute portion 81 below the weighing hopper 6. In this way, whenthe articles A discharged from the weighing hopper 6 reach the firstreceiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c, a dropspeed is made uniform at a center and both sides thereof. Moreover,since the first inner surface 61 c and the second inner surface 61 dhave the intersecting positional relationship to protrude outward withrespect to the centerline CL, the articles A are discharged in a stateof being collected together from the main body 61 of the weighing hopper6. Further, since the first receiving surface 83 b and the secondreceiving surface 83 c have the intersecting positional relationship toprotrude outward with respect to the centerline CL, spread of thearticles A due to dropping is suppressed. Therefore, the articles Areceived by the first receiving surface 83 b and the second receivingsurface 83 c are collected together (see a two-dot chain line of FIG. 4)to slide on the upper stage chute portion 81 toward the discharge port 8a side of the lower stage chute portion 82. Therefore, according to thecombination weighing apparatus 1, the articles A discharged from theweighing hopper 6 can be discharged from the collecting chute 8 in ashort time.

In addition, in the combination weighing apparatus 1, in each weighinghopper 6, the opening 61 b is provided in the main body 61 so as to bepositioned on the lower side as the opening 61 b is farther from thecenterline CL, and the gate 62 is rotatably attached to the portion ofthe edge of the opening 61 b in the main body 61 on the centerline CLside. In this way, the articles A drops in a more collected state alongthe first inner surface 61 c and the second inner surface 61 d of themain body 61.

In addition, in the combination weighing apparatus 1, the first distanced1 between the lower end of the first inner surface 61 c and the firstreceiving surface 83 b in the vertical direction is substantiallyconstant, the second distance d2 between the lower end of the secondinner surface 61 d and the second receiving surface 83 c in the verticaldirection is substantially constant, and the first distance d1 and thesecond distance d2 are substantially equal to each other. In this way,when the articles A discharged from the weighing hopper 6 reach thefirst receiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c, thedrop speed becomes substantially equal at the center and both sidesthereof.

As a comparative example, when a main body 61 of the weighing hopper 6Ais a square pillar-shaped tubular body as illustrated in FIG. 5, and aninner surface 61 f facing the centerline CL side is one plane asillustrated in FIG. 6, the articles A received by the first receivingsurface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c vertically extendwhen compared to a case indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4(see a two-dot chain line of FIG. 6). This is because each of a firstdistance d1 between a lower end of the inner surface 61 f and the firstreceiving surface 83 b in the vertical direction and a second distanced2 between the lower end of the inner surface 61 f and the secondreceiving surface 83 c in the vertical direction increases toward acenter, and a drop speed increases toward the center when the articles Adischarged from the weighing hopper 6 reach the first receiving surface83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c.

In addition, in the combination weighing apparatus 1, the articles Adischarged from the weighing hopper 6 are received by the firstreceiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c of theupper stage chute portion 81. In this instance, since the firstreceiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c have theintersecting positional relationship to protrude outward with respect tothe centerline CL, spread of the articles A due to dropping issuppressed. Further, the articles A received by the first receivingsurface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c slide on the slidingsurface 83 a of the upper stage chute portion 81 toward the dischargeport 8 a side of the lower stage chute portion 82. In this instance,since the width of the sliding surface 83 a increases as approaching thecenterline CL, and the width of each of the first receiving surface 83 band the second receiving surface 83 c decreases as approaching thecenterline CL, friction, etc. occurring between the articles Adecreases, and the articles A are collected together to smoothly slideon the sliding surface 83 a. Moreover, since spread of the articles Adue to dropping is suppressed, friction due to contact between thearticles A and the first side surface 83 d and the second side surface83 e is reduced, and the articles A are collected together to smoothlyslide on the sliding surface 83 a. Therefore, according to thecombination weighing apparatus 1, it is possible to discharge thearticles A discharged from the weighing hopper 6 from the collectingchute 8 in a short time.

In addition, in the combination weighing apparatus 1, each of thesliding surface 83 a, the first receiving surface 83 b and the secondreceiving surface 83 c is a flat surface, and each of the firstreceiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c is directlyconnected to the sliding surface 83 a. In this way, for example, thesliding surface 83 a, the first receiving surface 83 b, and the secondreceiving surface 83 c can be easily configured by bending a platematerial.

In addition, in the combination weighing apparatus 1, the slidingsurface 83 a has the triangular shape in which one side is positioned onthe centerline CL side and one vertex is positioned on the opposite sidefrom the centerline CL side, and each of the first receiving surface 83b and the second receiving surface 83 c has the triangular shape inwhich one vertex is positioned on the centerline CL side and one side ispositioned on the opposite side from the centerline CL side. In thisway, it is possible to appropriately implement a configuration in whichthe width of the sliding surface 83 a increases as approaching thecenterline CL and the width of each of the first receiving surface 83 band the second receiving surface 83 c decreases as approaching thecenterline CL.

[Modification]

Even though the embodiment of the disclosure has been described above,the combination weighing apparatus of the disclosure is not limited tothe above-described embodiment. For example, in the main body 61 of theweighing hopper 6, the first inner surface 61 c and the second innersurface 61 d may not be directly connected to each other. As an example,as illustrated in FIG. 7(a), the first inner surface 61 c and the secondinner surface 61 d may be indirectly connected to each other throughanother surface 61 e. Similarly, in the partition member 83, the firstreceiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c may bedirectly connected to each other. As an example, as illustrated in FIG.7(a), the first receiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface83 c may be indirectly connected to each other through another surface83 f.

In addition, in the main body 61 of the weighing hopper 6, the firstinner surface 61 c and the second inner surface 61 d may not be the flatsurfaces. As an example, as illustrated in FIG. 7(b), the first innersurface 61 c and the second inner surface 61 d may be curved surfaces.Similarly, in the partition member 83, the first receiving surface 83 band the second receiving surface 83 c may not be the flat surfaces. Asan example, as illustrated in FIG. 7(b), the first receiving surface 83b and the second receiving surface 83 c may be curved surfaces.

In addition, when the main body 61 of the weighing hopper 6 is providedwith the first inner surface 61 c and the second inner, surface 61 dhaving the intersecting positional relationship to protrude outward withrespect to the centerline CL, and a portion of the upper stage chuteportion 81 located below each weighing hopper 6 is provided with thefirst receiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 chaving the intersecting positional relationship to protrude outward withrespect to the centerline CL, each of the first distance d1 and thesecond distance d2 may not be substantially constant, and the firstdistance d1 and the second distance d2 may not be substantially equal toeach other.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 8(a), the sliding surface 83 a maynot be the flat surface and may be a curved surface. In addition, asillustrated in FIG. 8(b), each of the first receiving surface 83 b andthe second receiving surface 83 c may not be the flat surface and may bea curved surface. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 8(c), the slidingsurface 83 a may not be the one plane and may include a plurality offlat surfaces or a plurality of curved surfaces.

In addition, the shape of the sliding surface 83 a is not limited to thetriangular shape in which one side is positioned on the centerline CLside and one vertex is positioned on the opposite side from thecenterline CL side. For example, it is possible to adopt a trapezoidalshape in which a long base is located on the centerline CL side and ashort base is located on the opposite side from the centerline CL side,etc. as long as the width of the sliding surface 83 a increases asapproaching the centerline CL. In addition, the shape of each of thefirst receiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c isnot limited to the triangular shape in which one vertex is positioned onthe centerline CL side and one side is positioned on the opposite sidefrom the centerline CL side. For example, it is possible to adopt atrapezoidal shape in which a short base is located on the centerline CLside and a long base is located on the opposite side from the centerlineCL side, etc. as long as the width of each of the first receivingsurface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c decreases asapproaching the centerline CL.

In addition, the sliding surface 83 a is not limited to a surfaceextending from below the weighing hopper 6 to the outer edge of theopening 82 a of the lower stage chute portion 82, and may be a surfaceextending from a middle of the sliding area R to the outer edge of theopening 82 a of the lower stage chute portion 82. That is, the width ofthe sliding surface 83 a may be zero below the weighing hopper 6. Inaddition, each of the first receiving surface 83 b and the secondreceiving surface 83 c is not limited to a surface extending from belowthe weighing hopper 6 to the outer edge of the opening 82 a of the lowerstage chute portion 82, and may be a surface extending from below theweighing hopper 6 to the middle of the sliding area R. That is, thewidth of each of the first receiving surface 83 b and the secondreceiving surface 83 c may be zero at the outer edge of the opening 82 aof the lower stage chute portion 82.

As described above, the shape of the sliding surface 83 a may be a shapein which the width of the sliding surface 83 a increases as approachingthe centerline CL within a preset upper limit as a limit. In addition,the shape of each of the first receiving surface 83 b and the secondreceiving surface 83 c may be a shape in which the width of each of thefirst receiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 cdecreases as approaching the centerline CL within a preset lower limitas a limit. In these cases, it is possible to appropriately implement aconfiguration in which the width of the sliding surface 83 a increasesas approaching the centerline CL and the width of each of the firstreceiving surface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c decreasesas approaching the centerline CL.

In addition, in the partition member 83, each of the first receivingsurface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c may not be directlyconnected to the sliding surface 83 a. That is, the first receivingsurface 83 b and the second receiving surface 83 c may be indirectlyconnected to the sliding surface 83 a through another surface.

In addition, the combination weighing apparatus 1 may not include thetiming hopper 9. The configuration of the combination weighing apparatusof the disclosure capable of discharging the articles discharged fromthe hopper in a state of being collected together from the collectingchute is particularly effective when the combination weighing apparatus1 does not include the timing hopper 9.

In addition, the collecting chute 8 may not have the lower stage chuteportion 82. For example, when the bag making/packaging machine 60 has aconfiguration corresponding to the lower stage chute portion 82, theneed for the collecting chute 8 of the combination weighing apparatus 1to have the lower stage chute portion 82 is low.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the weighing hopper 6and the sliding area R (partition member 83) correspond to each other ona one-to-one basis. However, for example, one sliding area R (partitionmember 83) may correspond to a plurality of weighing hoppers 6.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1: combination weighing apparatus, 6: weighing hopper (hopper), 8:collecting chute, 61: main body, 61 a: opening (first opening), 61 b:opening (second opening), 61 c: first inner surface, 61 d: second innersurface, 62: gate, 81: upper stage chute portion (chute portion), 83 a:sliding surface, 83 b: first receiving surface, 83 c: second receivingsurface, A: articles, CL: centerline, R: sliding area.

1. A combination weighing apparatus comprising: a plurality of hoppersdisposed to surround a centerline parallel to a vertical direction andconfigured to temporarily store articles supplied from an outside; and acollecting chute configured to discharge the articles discharged fromthe plurality of hoppers while collecting the articles, wherein each ofthe plurality of hoppers has a main body provided with a first openingthrough which the articles are input and a second opening through whichthe articles are discharged, and a gate allowed to be opened and closedwith respect to the second opening, the main body is provided with afirst inner surface and a second inner surface having an intersectingpositional relationship to protrude outward with respect to thecenterline, the collecting chute has at least a chute portion configuredto receive the articles discharged from the plurality of hoppers andslide the articles, and a portion of the chute portion located below theplurality of hoppers is provided with a first receiving surface and asecond receiving surface having an intersecting positional relationshipto protrude outward with respect to the centerline, the first receivingsurface and the second receiving surface being surfaces corresponding tothe first inner surface and the second inner surface, respectively. 2.The combination weighing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesecond opening is provided in the main body to be positioned on a lowerside as the second opening is farther from the centerline, and the gateis rotatably attached to a portion of an edge of the second opening inthe main body on a side of the centerline.
 3. The combination weighingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein a first distance between a lowerend of the first inner surface and the first receiving surface in avertical direction is substantially constant, a second distance betweena lower end of the second inner surface and the second receiving surfacein the vertical direction is substantially constant, and the firstdistance and the second distance are substantially equal to each other.4. The combination weighing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein aplurality of sliding areas is provided in the chute portion to extendfrom below the plurality of hoppers to the side of the centerline and bepositioned on a lower side as approaching the centerline, each of theplurality of sliding areas includes a sliding surface forming a bottomsurface of the sliding area, the first receiving surface connected tothe sliding surface on one side of the sliding surface in a horizontaldirection when viewed from the side of the centerline, and the secondreceiving surface connected to the sliding surface on the other side ofthe sliding surface in the horizontal direction when viewed from theside of the centerline, the sliding surface, the first receivingsurface, and the second receiving surface mutually have an intersectingpositional relationship to protrude outward with respect to thecenterline, a width of the sliding surface increases as approaching thecenterline, and a width of each of the first receiving surface and thesecond receiving surface decreases as approaching the centerline.